PURPOSE
To investigate health problems in child day care centers, needs for Child Care Health Programs, and management of sick children by day-care staff.
METHODS
A cross-sectional descriptive study. Day-care staff (N=206) from 33 day care centers in Seoul, completed a structured questionnaire.
RESULTS
Almost half of the day-care staff (53.4%) experienced sick events in their child at least once a month. The most frequently reported difficulty in having a sick child was in not having a health professional to consult, and almost all day-care staff (99.5%) had asked parents not to bring a sick child to the day care center.
The biggest reason of exclusion was due to infectious disease including measles, chicken pox, mumps, diarrhea.vomiting, and pink eye. The majority of day-care staff (97.6%) agreed that there is a need for Center-based Child Care Health Program (CCCHP), and expected general health & illness management, and special care for chronic disease from CCCHP.
CONCLUSION
These results showed a high incidence of sickness in children in day care centers, and there were great demands for a Center-based Child Care Health Program for day-care staff. Also the results of this study can be utilized as a basis for the establishment of child care policy in Korea.
